Other characters

Susan Yu
Older sister; 32 when she married (book 2.) The perfect one. Dermatologist. Book 2 opens with her wedding reception.

Elizabeth Yu
(Beth) Younger sister; 23 in Book 1.

Julia Yu
Lily’s mother. 55 at start of Book 1.

Edward Yu
Lily’s father.

Grandmother (Li Lei Yu)
Lily’s father’s mother; the Tiger Lady

Li Qin
A nebulously related cousin who lives with Grandmother; gentle. “Age had softened the square of Li Qin’s face and blurred the angular body into something more androgynous than feminine. Her voice was her one beauty--low and soft and clear as bells.”

Benedict
Rule’s oldest brother. Tall, muscular, Native American on his mother’s side; considered the greatest living lupi warrior. Responsible for security at Clanhome; trains young Nokolai in combat. Reclusive since the death of his Chosen, Claire. His daughter is Nettie, the shaman/physician.

Nettie Two Horses
Tall, coppery-skinned woman with a cloud of frizzy gray hair hanging nearly to her waist. Physician and Shaman. In Book2, it’s revealed that she’s Benedict’s daughter. (She is Nokolai but not lupus, since she’s female.)

Toby Asteglio
Rule’s son; 8 when series opens. Lives with his grandmother on his mother’s side. Visits Rule often.

Sammy
A young redheaded lupus who acts as guard.

Hannah The Nokolai Rhej
A Rhej (always female) is priestess/bard/clan historian, keeper of the memories—literal memories, magically recorded and retained, stretching back over two thousand years. She’s also the clan’s contact with their Lady. She’s blind but Gifted—physical empathy allows her to read her surroundings and function well.

There are currently 24 clans; 10 are considered dominant. A dominant clan possesses a particularly strong mantle. Occasionally a dominant clan will accept temporary subordinate status to another clan, as Kyffin did with Nokolai in Book 1; it’s still considered dominant because the mantle is unaffected. A clan loses dominant status—and may lose its mantle and identity--when it loses a Clan Challenge. Clan Challenges are rare and can mean outright war, but fundamentally they are a battle between the strengths of the clans’ mantles so they can be settled by individual combat between the two Rhos. All but two of the non-dominant clans are subordinated to one of the dominants. Non-dominant clans are small, since the size of the clan has an effect on the strength of its mantle. Etorri is the exception. It’s very small, yet its mantle is extremely powerful.

The most powerful clans currently are Nokolai and Leidolf, closely followed by Ybirra and a still-to-be-determined dominant clan that has two subordinate clans. Etorri wields great influence based on its du, though it lacks direct power because of its small size.

Below are nine of the ten dominant clans:

Nokolai
Rule’s clan. Rho: Isen Turner. Rhej: Hannah. Originally from the Brittany region of France. Nokolai is the fourth largest clan (Leidolf, Ybirra, and Mendoyo are larger) and has the most subordinate clans—four—and the most wealth.

Leidolf
A numerous clan, traditional enemies of Nokolai, implicated in the attack on Rule’s father [1, 2, 3] Randall Frey is the Lu Nuncio (heir) in the first 2 books, but is killed in Book 3. The Rho is Victor Frey. Victor’s other son is Brady Gunning, a sociopath: “tall, blond, and bony; nice chest.” Their Rhej is Leah—African American, tall, broad frame, Baptist. Leidolf currently has no subordinate clans; in the past they’ve absorbed (through Clan Challenge) three of the smaller clans.

Ansgar
Scandinavian; clanhome in Sweden. Ben Larson is Lu Nuncio. Clan members live in Scandinavian countries and in the U.S. Not a large clan, but three small clans are subordinate to Ansgar, increasing its “voice.”

Etorri
A tiny clan with great du (honor, face, magic, history); Stephen Andros is Lu Nuncio. Previous Rho was William Carr; current one is Frederick Andros. Follows different rules for succession and does not accept subordinate clans. Clanhome is in Canada. Etorri is said to be Greek, though the identity of its founder is one of many secrets kept by the clan. Etorri is a puzzle to the other clans.

Cynyr
A Celtic clan; most still live in Ireland and Scotland, some in Wales, but they have an American component. Lu Nuncio: Connolly (Con) McGuire. One subordinate (English) clan.

Kyffin
The smallest dominant, based in Canada; Jasper Herron, the Rho, is unusually young (40) & a friend of Rule’s. Subordinate to Nokolai for a year and a day, starting in middle of Book 1. The Lu Nuncio is Jasper’s brother, as Jasper’s son is too young. Kyffin’s influence is due largely to their friendly relations with pretty much every other clan.

Mendoyo
The only African clan, started by a small group of lupi who went to northern Africa after the Great War. Out of communication with other clans until 18th c. and have different customs. Lu Nuncio is Ato Tsegaye.

Ybirra
Large Spanish clan; the newest clan, founded in 1882 by Tomás Ybirra. Javiero Mendozo is Lu Nuncio. Clanhome in New Mexico. Acquired a subordinate clan four years before the opening of the series.

Dick Hayes
Acting Director of the FBI in Book 2 while the Director recuperates from open heart surgery. Thin and tense, with a long, horsy face and short gray hair. (“ the straightest eyebrows Lily had ever seen.) They looked as if someone had laid them on with a ruler.” Aka among the rank and file (not affectionately) as the Big Dick.

Ruben Brooks
Very thin; a wasting disease confines him to a wheelchair; a “polite steamroller.” He has a narrow face, hooked nose, and a light, clear tenor voice. Amazingly accurate precog (precognition Gift); tests at about 70%, but may be even higher.

Sarah Harris
Abducted with Lily when the girls were eight. She was killed; Lily lived.

Ginger Harris
Sarah Harris’s sister. Present at Club Hell night of first killing; witness against Rule. Disappeared at end of Book 1.

Most Reverend Patrick Harlowe
Top minister of the Azá (Church of the Faithful.) Rich, mellow voice; “an older man, with a pleasant but nondescript face. The kind you’d forget two minutes after meeting him.”

Dirty Harry
Large, battered orange cat who claims Lily as his human.

T.J. (Thomas James)
San Diego homicide detective

ni’Aureni Aeith
a Lord of Faerie (mentioned only)

Jiri
A mysterious woman Cynna used to know, her former teacher in the Msaidizi or Dizzies; a shetanni mwenye (demon master)